It’s no joker! Have-a-go hero whose real name is BATTMAN, 25, is rewarded £250 for his superhero bravery in tackling axe-wielding robber
- Steven Walton used an axe to rob the Pear Deals convenience store in Hartlepool
- Cameron Battman, 25, disarmed the thief and held him down until police arrived
- When later interviewed by officers, Cameron said: ‘It’s Batman, but with two Ts’
- Walton, who has 35 convictions, admitted robbery and was jailed for 40 months
Cameron Battman was praised by a judge and awarded £250 for tackling thief Steven Walton (pictured) in Hartlepool
A real-life Batman has been rewarded £250 by a judge after bravely disarming an axe-wielding robber and tackling him to the ground.
When asked by police for his name, hero Cameron Battman told officers ‘It’s Batman, but with two Ts’.
Steven Walton ran off with a carrier bag full of cash after robbing the Pear Deals convenience store in Hartlepool.
Father-of-two Cameron then came across Walton, 42, while getting into his car and stopped him from escaping.
The 25-year-old was given a £250 reward by Judge Peter Armstrong at Teesside Crown Court for his bravery while Walton was jailed for 40 months.
Cameron, who works as a fabricator welder, said: ‘As he approached me the axe dropped out of his coat and the carrier bag split on the floor.
‘He picked the axe up and I thought he was going to attack me.
‘I didn’t realise he had just robbed a shop. I disarmed him and kicked the axe away and held him on the floor.
‘I spoke to the police and they said “can you keep hold of him”. They were only around the corner on their way to the shop he had just robbed.
‘It’s not every day you get caught by Batman is it? I’m very thankful for [the reward] but I didn’t expect anything. I would do the same again.’
Prosecutor Jolyon Perks told Teesside Crown Court how Walton struck at 7am on December 3 at the Pear Deals convenience store.
Shop assistant Kelly Elvin was working there alone when she was suddenly confronted by Walton.
The court heard how he said something about money, and as she stepped back, he emptied the contents of the till, valued at £78.44, into a carrier bag.
He told her to give him the cigarettes and tobacco and she handed over four pouches of tobacco worth £42.80.
A short distance away, Cameron was getting into his car to go to work when Walton rode along.
Walton was holding the carrier bag which caught on his front wheel spilling coins onto the pavement. As he stood up the axe fell from his jacket.
Cameron, who previously worked as a security guard at Asda in Hartlepool, stepped in and used his strength to stop Walton from getting away.
Stephen Constantine, defending, told the court how Walton had little recollection of the robbery because he had taken Diazepam for sleeping difficulties.
Judge Peter Armstrong rewarded Cameron £250 out of public funds ‘for his bravery and public spiritedness in apprehending the defendant’.
Walton, who has 35 convictions for 85 offences, admitted robbery and was jailed for 40 months.